Priests are called each day to leave the doors of the Church open to a “suffering humanity” in need and not “be an obstacle to those who wish to enter,” Pope Leo XIV told 10 deacons just before ordaining them to the priesthood.
Priesthood
This spring, the U.S. will see more than 400 men ordained to the priesthood, both diocesan and religious.
Pope Leo XIV has shared his advice for how to discern one’s vocation, starting with the importance of creating space for interior silence to “hear what the Lord desires for our happiness.”
While the number of Catholic priests and religious continues to decline, the number of lay missionaries, catechists, and permanent deacons continues to increase, according to the news agency Fides.
As Pope Leo XIV neared his 70th birthday Sept. 14, those closest to the American-born pontiff said they knew, very early on, that he was in for lifelong service to the Church.
When Father Parker Thompson walked through the doors of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Frisco for his ordination last year, the occasion marked the grand culmination of years of prayer, discernment, and formation, according to the priest’s parents, Kathi and Bryan Thompson.
The number of Catholics and permanent deacons in the world rose in 2023, while the number of seminarians, priests, men and women in religious orders, and baptisms all declined, according to Vatican statistics.